In the second part, two relevant standards are analyzed: ISO/IEC 17025 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories and UNE 166002 R&D&i management: R&D&i management system requirements. The results of this study support the findings in the literature review, and complete the picture of the difficulties and challenges found by research testing laboratories. After the literature review, a questionnaire performed in collaboration with REDLAB (Red de Laboratorios de la Comunidad de Madrid) regarding QMS in research testing laboratories is presented. The first part of this paper includes a literature review focused on the hot topics regarding QMS in research testing laboratories: advantages and benefits of implementing a QMS difficulties and limitations when implementing a QMS and success factors for the implementation of a QMS. Thus, the point is how to overcome the difficulties and how to incorporate scientific competence requirements to the traditional schemes for QMS in testing laboratories. However, authors still agree on the benefits of a QMS on the research activity. Also, there is a feeling that a QMS as stated in the existing standards does not offer a complete response to the needs of research testing laboratories in terms of scientific competence.
From the late 1990s (when ISO/IEC 17025 was first published ) to the present, the analysis on how these laboratories adopt quality management practices has gone through aspects such as the difficulties found, the critical success factors or the key indicators in the process of implementing a QMS. Researchers and professionals have long discussed about the advisability of implementing a Quality Management System (QMS) in research testing laboratories. However, laboratories involved in R&D testing have specific difficulties to implement a QMS due to the peculiar nature of their activity. There is a broad consensus on the importance and advisability of testing laboratories adopting a Quality Management System (QMS) to support their work, no matter it is industrial oriented or a research oriented.
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